The Corona Close: How to Prospect Effectively Today
The Corona Close: How to Prospect Effectively in Today’s New Market
Sales coach Dan Jourdan says now is a great time to be reaching out to prospective customers. Why? “Everybody is waiting for something to happen,” Jourdan of “Sales Arbiter” told attendees at the Sept. 15 virtual meeting of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers.
View a recording of the meeting at this link.
While getting referrals is always a great way to get new clients, Jourdan — or “The Deej” as he is known — said cold-calling prospects is also a good strategy. He encouraged entrepreneurs to prospect by using publicly available information about business owners, such as Reference USA, a business database available through public libraries.
Another tip, avoid contacting prospects with messages laden with words such as “I, we, us.” “Those three words literally repel your prospects,” he said. Instead, try “you, yours, y’all.”
The seven magic words for breaking the ice? “I wonder if you could help me?” Most people will respond to people seeking help. Another good ice-breaker: “I wonder if you could give me some advice?” Queries that criticize a potential clients business or web page are huge turn-offs.
One recent solicitation from a potential client included a video clip, which instantly puts a potential partner into the client’s office. “It’s like you met them without meeting them,” he said.
Videos and cold calling are great ways to prospect.
“If you make enough noise, you’ll get more referrals,” Jourdan said.
Jourdan is a salesman who has successfully started from scratch, built up, and sold five out of six of his own businesses. But he is not a businessman, he is a salesman. The one business that failed was when he tried to be a real human, instead of a salesman. With his current firm, “Sales Arbiter, ” Dan and his partner Crispin Cruz work with small businesses in town that want to have self-functioning, highly profitable sales organizations within their company in which the owner is not involved. This way business brokers can sell the companies for more money! His business philosophy is a cross between Confucius and Robin Williams. Dan lives in Georgia with his wife Sharon and two children Matthew and Sophie.
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers, or GABB, is the state’s premier organization devoted to buying and selling businesses and franchises, and operates the state’s only real estate school dedicated to business brokering. For more information about GABB, please email diane.loupe@gabb.org, call or text 404-374-3990, or contact GABB president Dean Burnette at dean@b3brokers.com or (912) 247-3209.
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Considering Generational Strategies in Business Relationships
When you are buying or selling a business, you might very well end up making a deal with someone from another generation. Therefore, it only makes sense to take the time to understand that individual’s background and how that might change how they behave. It is important to understand their collective experiences and the trends that shaped their identities and perspectives. At the same time, you can identify your own biases, strengths and weaknesses that may be caused by your own upbringing.
The strategies in this article originated from Chuck Underwood who is considered a leading expert in the diversity of communication styles between generations. He is the author of a major book on the subject as well as host of the long-running “America’s Generations with Chuck Underwood” on PBS.
Generational Sensitivity
Underwood’s perspective is that people of each generation were molded by their unique formative years. The decisions that buyers and sellers make will be impacted by their generation. Mostly likely, the buyers or sellers you will be coming into contact with will be Baby Boomers, Generation Xers or Millennials.
Working with Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are a major force in the business world. While they often possess a patriotic passion to improve the country, they were also witness to a time of great change via many movements including the civil rights and women’s movement.
When you’re dealing with Baby Boomers, it is important to remember that they will want to build relationships and get to know you. Common courtesy is very important to Baby Boomers. That means they’ll expect you to show up on time and turn your phone off during meetings.
You’ll want to keep in mind that older Baby Boomers may be experiencing hearing and eyesight loss. As a result, you’ll want to keep your type and font size larger, and make text easy to read.
When you’re working with your clients, it only makes sense to pay attention to the generation during which they were raised and adapt your approach accordingly. Understanding generational differences will help you get a leg up on the competition while at the same time helping your clients achieve their goals.
What is Generation X?
Generation X (or Gen X) had a wildly different formative experience than the Baby Boomers. Generation X is generally defined as being born from 1965 to 1980. This generation spent its formative years from the 1970’s through the 1990’s. In stark contrast the relatively more pleasant and optimistic childhoods of the Baby Boomers, Gen X had a rougher ride.
America became more mobile during the time period during which Generation Xers grew up. As a result, many children were uprooted and separated from their friends, family and hometown roots. Growing up, these individuals witnessed a variety of scandals ranging from political and religious figures to sports figures. Gen Xers witnessed the systematic dismantling of the American middle class and with it a general lowering of quality of life, opportunities and confidence in corporations. In the end, Gen X was quite literally left home alone and lived as “latch key kids.” It is no wonder that this neglected generation has some issues.
Individuals growing up during this time learned early on that they had to be ready to fend for themselves. Since Gen Xers have been met with consistent and systematic disappointment and even wide scale institutional betrayal, this generation, on average, is more distrustful of organizations.
Gen Xers are self-reliant and independent and one of their core values is survival of the fittest. In his view, Gen Xers are self-focused, individualistic and want everyone to skip the nonsense and get to the point. They have no real interest in getting to know you or playing a round of golf.
Working with Millennials
Millennials spent their formative years in the 1980s and early 90s. They are a very optimistic and tech savvy generation. They are also the most classroom educated generation in history.
It is also very important to note that Millennials are the most adult-supervised generation in history. They are likely to be offspring of so-called “helicopter parents” who work to protect their children from setbacks. Employers find that Millennials are entering adulthood, but are still relying upon their parents to help them make decisions and even career choices.
Where Gen Xers are distrustful of the “wisdom of their elders,” Millennials actively seek out such advice. Likewise, Millennials tend to volunteer a good deal and look for ways to solve the world’s largest problems.
Millennials will enjoy building a relationship with you. Keep in mind these individuals tend to be quite socially conscious, and they may very well expect you to agree with their views. Additionally, there is a chance that they will have their parents involved in their business dealings.
Keep in mind that the de facto tech addiction, or at the very least acute overreliance on technology, has led to issues with Millennials’ soft skills. They can often lack the ability to read another person’s body language and adjust accordingly.
In the end, regardless of what generation you are working with, it is important that you continually adapt. This will greatly increase the odds of cementing a successful deal.
Copyright: Business Brokerage Press, Inc.
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Generating a Referral-Based Clientele through LinkedIn
The key to the success of many top-selling business brokers is developing clients through referrals.
Belinda Landers Jackson, a Professional Sales & Leadership Coach with Southwestern Consulting, spoke to the Georgia Association of Business Brokers on Sept. 1 about how to use LinkedIn to create what she called warm referrals.
View a recording of her presentation here.
Jackson said effectively using LinkedIn can help professionals connect to the people they need to meet to create business, and help each other close business deals faster.
“We’ve got to make it easy for people to refer us business,” Jackson said. She demonstrated how to create a list of job titles that one might target for networking, and how to pull a list of names from referral partners.
She suggested professionals pre-approach strategy in which you ask a prospective referral partner for a story on how they met, something they respect about the referral, some unique interest or funny story. “We call them golden nuggets,” or a warm way of creating an initial interaction. This warm introduction is much more effective than a going-for-the-jugular sales pitch because it puts people at ease.
GABB Board member Mike Ramatowski says developing clients through referrals can take a long time, but pays off. You should not ignore potential clients when you’re not doing business with them. “I recently closed a deal with someone that I had been working with for two years,” he said. Join GABB and find out how you can improve your referrals game.
Belinda sold and managed more than $1 Million in marketing budgets per year for multiple small- and medium-sized businesses. She also has extensive experience working with law firms, commercial and industrial products, home and home improvement businesses, and medical offices to increase awareness and market their business.
Southwestern Consulting is the professional sales training division of the oldest direct sales company in the US, The Southwestern Company.
The GABB is the state’s premier organization devoted to buying and selling businesses and franchises, and operates the state’s only real estate school dedicated to business brokering. For more information about GABB, please email diane.loupe@gabb.org, call or text 404-374-3990, or contact GABB president Dean Burnette at dean@b3brokers.com or (912) 247-3209.
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How Good are You at Selling? GABB, Aug. 18
Business brokers need to learn many things to effectively represent their clients. But how good are they at selling?
Salesmanship will be the main topic of the Aug. 18 virtual meeting of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. Business Coach and GABB Member Russ Hall will lead the discussion among experienced business brokers about the importance of selling skills in the profession. Registration at this link is required to join the meeting, planned for Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 10 a.m.
Hall works with ActionCOACH, a global organization that helps owners and teams of small businesses improve performance so that they can improve their lives. He spent his first seven years after university as a US Naval Aviator, piloting SH-3 Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters. Then he spent two decades with a Fortune 100 company in the Healthcare Technology sector. To develop as a coach, he earned a Master’s in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at the University of Georgia.
The GABB is the state’s premier organization devoted to buying and selling businesses and franchises, and operates the state’s only real estate school dedicated to business brokering.
For more information about GABB, please email diane.loupe@gabb.org or call or text 404-374-3990, or contact GABB president Dean Burnette at dean@b3brokers.com or (912) 247-3209.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Read MoreThe Biggest Mistakes Business Buyers Make
By Peter Siegel MBA, BizBen Founder
The biggest mistake made by buyers is not seeking professional representation and guidance before closing the purchase transaction. Without an experienced broker or attorney on their side, a buyer is prone to making numerous mistakes, some of which can jeopardize the viability of the business.
Even in those transactions that involved a business escrow and SBA financing, I have seen disputes and even litigation between buyers and sellers result from the buyer and seller leaving significant terms “to be determined” after closing, or failing to address significant legal issues prior to closing. For example, buyers and sellers often agree that the seller will providing consulting services to the buyer after closing, but some buyers and sellers close escrow before agreeing to the details of such an arrangement.
Once the seller has pocketed the sales proceeds, he has little reason to negotiate such an arrangement on terms favorable to the buyer. With respect to legal issues, buyers also occasionally fail to obtain an assignment of all of the seller’s rights under important contracts, including leases, prior to closing. Landlords, vendors, or customers operating under contracts with the seller may, under some circumstances, refuse to do business with the buyer, and this can be fatal to a business.
I asked other business brokers, advisors and intermediaries what they thought about this, and here are some of their responses:
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